SANTA CLARA, Calif., Sept. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Aeris Communications, the Made for Machines™ technology and service provider, today announced the launch of AerCloud, a next-generation M2M Application Enablement Platform (AEP) that provides data management and analytics functionality for M2M applications. With the addition of AerCloud, Aeris extends its award-winning product line, now offering the most complete solution for M2M service enablement, spanning the entire stack – from network to application.

Historically, connected devices stream data directly from a network through to the application, which must process, store and manage the data, all while providing for application security, scalability, and flexibility. The traditional approach results in an elongated development cycle and increased costs as application developers must continually "reinvent the wheel" by focusing on baseline application infrastructure rather than on higher-level business logic. Furthermore, most developers are not familiar with the unique nature of connected device traffic patterns, so the underlying application architecture is often deficient in providing key mechanisms for application reliability and robustness.

AerCloud provides a critical abstraction layer between connected devices and applications, such that neither communicates directly with each other, but rather through AerCloud. Its unique data-centric architecture makes it simple for application developers to collect and store data, mine the data for critical business insights, and securely publish the data to applications and 3rd parties. M2M application developers can leverage proven and hardened data management components and standardized APIs, resulting in a significant reduction in application development time and cost by up to 10x, all while providing increased scalability, reliability, and flexibility.

Delivered as a cloud service, AerCloud has been designed with the same mission-critical reliability that powers all Aeris products, offering advanced failover capabilities, including geographic redundancy, to ensure seamless service in case of any unexpected event. AerCloud can be used with any M2M connected device and communication technology, but delivers unique benefits when paired with Aeris' M2M network service.

"With AerCloud, we enable M2M solution providers to leverage the most precious part of their solutions: the data," says Marc Jones, CEO at Aeris. "Traditionally M2M solutions have been about posting raw data to stovepipe applications to provide enterprises with clues on operational drivers. But now our customers can take advantage of AerCloud's groundbreaking, true cloud architecture and unique functionalities, to access high-value business information for their operations and establish disruptive models for their business, easily and cost effectively."

"As the Internet of Things proliferates, more companies will be looking to use cloud-based platforms and companies like Aeris, which offer a full-stack solution," says Carrie MacGillivray, Vice President, Mobile Services & IoT at IDC. "Data and applications are where the value will be realized. This will cause a paradigm shift in the IoT ecosystem. Vendors who are able to incorporate data and applications into their IoT story will be well-positioned for success."

AerCloud: The Next-Generation M2M Application Platform

The M2M market is at the cusp of significant changes and growth. Driven by a strong ROI, falling hardware costs, and the ubiquity of connectivity, M2M use cases are exploding in both size and scope, leading to a 10x increase in connected devices over the near future according to some industry analysts. At the same time, there is a growing recognition that the value of M2M data extends far beyond the first order use of monitoring and control. Sophisticated users are now extracting actionable business intelligence from their M2M data, and in the process multiplying the value of their deployment. And finally, the ecosystem itself is undergoing an undeniable shift. The M2M market has traditionally been saddled with a complex and fragmented vendor landscape, making the development of new applications time-consuming and expensive. Just as "consumerization" is transforming the IT market, the same is on the horizon for the M2M market, paving the way for new solutions that are as simple to develop and consume as smartphone applications are today.

AerCloud has been architected and designed to sit squarely in the center of these trends, and offers important differentiators from traditional AEP solutions:

Limitless scalability: Powered by the same technologies that are used by Twitter, Facebook, and Google, AerCloud is designed and tested for a world of billions of devices and millions of applications. Applications can start small, and then scale with nearly limitless boundaries.

Advanced built-in analytics: With integrated analytics, AerCloud facilitates the extraction of business intelligence from M2M data – for instance, to identify a truck exhibiting dangerous road behavior in a fleet management system or to detect on the spot a water leak from a water meter. Importantly, with an advanced real-time analytics engine, the intelligence can be delivered within seconds, enabling immediate intervention or corrective action.

Unparalleled integration into the connectivity layer: For typical M2M deployments, network signaling data (including device location, status, and authentication information) constitutes the majority of data volume emanating from a connected device. When used with Aeris' connectivity service, all of this signaling information is available to the M2M application developer, enabling richer and more functional applications.

Disruptive economics: In addition to addressing the platform needs for large, mission-critical M2M deployments, AerCloud is intended to be the M2M application platform of choice for the long-tail of connected product makers and developers. As such, AerCloud is launching with an innovative freemium pricing model, enabling basic usage of the platform at no cost.

"We chose to work with AerCloud at the heart of our M2M managed services proposition because it provides the robust and secure network that our unique cloud-based, pay-as-you-go, software-as-a-service business model requires," says Robert Condon, Chief Executive of Fidelity Data Networks. "We servecorporate clients in a wide range of industry sectors by connecting intelligent Micro Electro-Mechanical Sensors (MEMS) to remote assets, machines, facilities and processes to provide true real-time monitoring, control and analysis of events and data.Working with AerCloud gives us the flexibility to meet the telecom needs of a variety of industries with reliable cloud-based solutions. No other platform we evaluated provided the same level of functionality and flexibility."

About Aeris CommunicationsAeris is a pioneer and leader in the market of the Internet of Things – as an operator of end-to-end M2M services and as a technology provider enabling other operators to deliver profitable M2M services. Among our customers are the most demanding users of M2M services today, including Hyundai, Acura, Rand McNally, Leica, and Sprint. Through our "Made for Machines" technology and services, we strive to fundamentally improve their businesses – by dramatically reducing costs, improving operational efficiency, reducing time-to-market, and enabling new revenue streams. Visit www.aeris.com or follow us on Twitter @AerisM2M to learn how we can inspire you to create new business models and to participate in the revolution of the Internet of Things.